Lesson 46
Adjectives and Noun-Adjective Agreement
النعت
Arabic adjectives (نَعْت) must agree with their noun in four ways: gender, number, case, and definiteness. This four-way agreement is one of the most demanding features of Arabic for learners.
Four-Way Adjective Agreement
Agreement pointMasculineFeminine
Gender (sg)طَالِبٌ مُجْتَهِدٌطَالِبَةٌ مُجْتَهِدَةٌ
Number (pl)طُلَّابٌ مُجْتَهِدُونَطَالِبَاتٌ مُجْتَهِدَاتٌ
Case (acc)رَأَيْتُ طَالِباً مُجْتَهِداًرَأَيْتُ طَالِبَةً مُجْتَهِدَةً
Definiteness (def)الطَّالِبُ الْمُجْتَهِدُالطَّالِبَةُ الْمُجْتَهِدَةُ
Common Adjectives with Their Forms
Masculine sgFeminine sgMeaning
كَبِيرٌكَبِيرَةٌbig
صَغِيرٌصَغِيرَةٌsmall
جَدِيدٌجَدِيدَةٌnew
قَدِيمٌقَدِيمَةٌold
مُجْتَهِدٌمُجْتَهِدَةٌhardworking
جَمِيلٌجَمِيلَةٌbeautiful
هَذَا الطَّالِبُ الْمُجْتَهِدُ تَخَرَّجَ مِنَ الْجَامِعَةِ الإِسْلَامِيَّة
Hādhā ṭ-ṭālibu l-mujtahidu takharraja min al-jāmiʿati l-islāmiyya
This hardworking student graduated from the Islamic University.
قَرَأْتُ كُتُباً كَثِيرَةً فِي الْمَدِينَةِ مَسَاجِدُ كَبِيرَةٌ
Qaraʾtu kutuban kathīratan Fī l-madīnati masājidu kabīratun
I read many books. In the city there are large mosques. (non-human pl → feminine sg adj)
- Non-human plural: adjective is feminine singular كُتُبٌ كَثِيرَة (many books).
- Definite noun + definite adjective: both have الـ الطَّالِبُ الْمُجْتَهِد.
- Indefinite noun + indefinite adjective: both take tanwīn طَالِبٌ مُجْتَهِدٌ.
- An adjective after an iḍāfa modifies the whole phrase and comes last: كِتَابُ الطَّالِبِ الْجَدِيدُ (the student's new book).
- Predicate adjective (without a noun): خَبَر in a nominal sentence الطَّالِبُ مُجْتَهِدٌ (The student is hardworking) the adjective is indefinite here even though the subject is definite.